


scrapbook

by adventureboots



Category: Natsume Yuujinchou | Natsume's Book of Friends
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Families of Choice, Gen, Natsume Takashi Protection Squad, Photographs, Social Media, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-18
Updated: 2019-03-18
Packaged: 2019-11-14 19:44:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,242
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18058841
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adventureboots/pseuds/adventureboots
Summary: [image: A boy, maybe fourteen, stands on the porch of the Fujiwara household in a brand new school uniform. Slung over one shoulder is an old but well-loved leather messenger bag. In his hand is a brightly wrapped bento. The boy, although smiling, looks nervous.](or: Natsume learns to use a cell phone, text people back, call people first, and take pictures of his friends)





	scrapbook

**Author's Note:**

> So, I know Yuujinchou is set in the ambiguous 80s. This story reimagines it in a distinctly modern setting, in part bc I wanted to explore some of the positive aspects of technology and in part bc no one needs a cell phone more than Natsume. Any usernames that exist in the real world are incidental and not intended as a representation of real people.
> 
> Also, I died editing this. My ghost posted this story for me.

**Fujiwara Touko** added 1 new photo to **Family Album**

[image: A boy, maybe fourteen, stands on the porch of the Fujiwara household in a brand new school uniform. Slung over one shoulder is an old but well-loved leather messenger bag. In his hand is a brightly wrapped bento. The boy, although smiling, looks nervous.]

 

 

“Takashi-kun, wait!”

Takashi pauses at the gekkan, dressed for the first time in his school uniform. He’s stopped looking nervous whenever she asks him a question, usually, and now mostly just avoids eye contact during their talks. It’s progress.

“Have a good day at school, Takashi-kun," she says, passing him the bento she made this morning. The wrap is bright green and dotted with birds in flight; inside, it's filled with pork and steamed vegetables on a bed of brown rice.

Takashi holds the bento suspended between them. He waits, as if for the answer, though to what question Touko isn't sure. Finally, he asks: "Is this for me?"

Oh.

"Of course," Touko says, fighting to keep her smile steady. "I don't know your favorites yet, but I hope you like it."

Takashi looks down at the bento, effectively hiding his expression behind his hair. He shuffles his bento into his bag and readjusts the strap and promises, "I will."

When he reaches for the door again, Touko blurts, "Let me take your photo."

Takashi looks back, confused. "My photo?"

"It's a tradition," she explains. "My parents always took my photo on the first day of school, that way they could see how much I had grown each year. I thought I could do the same for you, if you're open to the idea."

Baffled, Takashi nods. "Alright," he says.

"Alright," Touko repeats. "Thank you."

She leads Takashi to the porch, where he smiles stiffly at her phone camera. When she's done, he ducks his head again and mutters “I’m off" in a quiet, almost tremulous tone, like he doesn’t expect a reply.

“Take care,” Touko calls. She watches him disappear around the corner like a creature made of mist. Inside, her heart feels like a bird with a broken wing, the way it does every time the cruelty of the world peeks out through Takashi's fragile, pieced-together trust. 

She can't help feeling like that could have gone better.

 

 

 **Nishimura (07:50):** New kid!

 **Nishimura (07:51):** Kitamoto, there's a new kid!

 **Kitamoto (07:55):**  I know. I'm in your class.

 **Nishimura (07:59):** He looks shy.

 **Nishimura (08:00):** It's probably overwhelming to meet so many new people at once.

 **Nishimura (08:02):** He sat next to me! I'm pretty sure this means we're friends now.

 **Kitamoto (08:04):**  We have assigned seats.

 **Nishimura (08:04):** Irrelevant.

 **Nishimura (08:08):** Do you think he likes bugs?

 **Kitamoto (08:21):** Don't text when the teacher is talking.

 

 

High school starts off with a new kid in their class.

Technically, they’re all new, since they all just started high school together, but Sasada Jun has known everyone in her class since grade school and can at least recognize everyone in her year by face, if not by name. Natsume Takashi is not a name she recognizes and his face is one she would definitely remember, with his pretty, delicate features and cobwebby hair. He sticks to the script when he introduces himself to the class and offers up little personal information—recently moved, nice to meet you, please take care of me—but fragility hangs about him like a cloud.

By lunch, at least a third of the class seems to have developed crushes on the new kid, who mysteriously vanishes at the end of class.

Natsume Takashi reappears just two minutes before the end of break, a cute bento in hand, and resumes his seat with only a polite word or two with his desk neighbors. He spends the rest of class trying to follow along with the teacher and complete their assigned worksheets, but Jun can pinpoint the moment he gives up for the day: forty minutes to the bell, he props his chin on a hand and stares out at the school’s deserted front gates.

There is, Jun notes, a brace on his left wrist, as if it was recently sprained. Interesting.

She intercepts him as he’s packing up to leave.

“Hello, Natsume-san.”

“Hello,” Natsume Takashi mumbles, quietly, to his book bag. He avoids eye contact—uncomfortable talking to strangers, maybe? She’ll keep it short, then.

She smiles reassuringly. “Sorry to bother you. I’m Sasada Jun, the class assistant representative. One of the things we set up at the beginning of the year was a group chat for homework questions and study help, although most people use if for other things as well. I can add you to it if, if you like? I find it’s pretty useful, and it would be a good way to get to know the rest of the class.”

“Ah,” Natsume says. “Sorry.” He slings his schoolbag over his shoulder and looks at the door. “I don’t have an account.”

Jun blinks. That’s unusual, but not really an issue. “Okay. I can give you my phone number instead, and you can text me directly if you have any questions. Does that work for you?”

Natsume seems to shrink into himself. He looks just to the left of her face. Back to the door. “I don’t have a cell phone.”

“Ah,” Jun says, feeling just as awkward for having made the assumption. “Email?” Jun tries, hopeful.

She watches as Natsume struggles with some kind of internal conflict before, finally, he gives a quick nod.

"Great!” Jun pulls out her smartphone. “Just put your address in here and I’ll send you a message with my information.”

Natsume takes the phone from her with both hands and holds it like it’s a valuable glass bauble. It’s an endearing, almost childlike move that gives Jun another glimpse of the brace on his wrist. “If you do decide to get an account,” Jun adds, as Natsume henpecks his contact information, “just let me know. I’d be happy to add you to the group chat whenever you feel like it.”

“Sorry,” Natsume says again, handing her phone back. Jun gets the feeling he says it a lot. “I need to head back. The—um. My, um. I said I would help out with something after school,” he says, and beelines for the door.

“Okay! I’ll text you my contact info this afternoon!” Jun calls after him, slightly confused.

 

 

To: natsume@gmail.com  
From: sasadajun@gmail.com  
Subject: Welcome!

Hello Natsume-kun,

This is Sasada Jun from homeroom! Feel free to contact me with this email or at my phone number (0X-XXXX-XXXX) if you have any questions about class or the town. I look forward to learning with you in class this year!

Sasada Jun

 

 

“Hey, Natsume,” Satoru says, leaning into Natsume’s space. “Me and Kitamoto are planning to go check out the new café this weekend. Do you want to come?”

Natsume blinks up at Satoru in surprise, chopsticks halfway to his mouth. “Oh, um,” he says. There’s a pause, where Natsume seems to be waiting something. “…okay.”

“Great!” Satoru beams triumphantly at Kitamoto, who thought Natsume was going turn them down. “Let’s trade numbers so we can meet up.”

Natsume pauses. He glances nervously between Satoru and Kitamoto and scratches his head sheepishly. “Oh, I don’t have a phone.”

“Really?” Satoru pauses. It's a little odd, but Satoru knows by now Natsume's foster parents are a little older, so maybe they just don't care much for technology. “That’s okay. Where do you live? We can meet you there. Kitamoto loves waking up early on the weekends.”

“He’s lying, Natsume,” Kitamoto says, placidly stabbing a sausage with his chopstick. “You should never trust anything Nishimura says.”

“Oh, um—”

“How dare you. I am the very face of innocence.”

“Oh really? That’s the same face that told Mana that you had no idea why her favorite stuffed animal was—mmnpf! Mmmnnenf!”

Satoru smiles at Natsume and ignores Kitamoto’s juvenile attempts to lick his hand. Some stories don’t need to be retold. “Anyway! See you Saturday at seven?”

“Ssbnn?!”

Natsume blinks owlishly at them and appears to accept this behavior as normal. “Alright. Saturday at seven.”

Satoru beams back.

 

 

 **Nishimura** **(16:24):** do you know the answer to number 9?

 **Kitamoto**   **(16:28):** Math or history?

 **Nishimura**   **(16:28):** we had history homework??? uh math

 **Kitamoto**   **(16:28):** Just factor it.

 **Kitamoto (16:29):** Do you think Natsume doesn’t like me?

 **Nishimura**   **(16:29):** I am factoring it! It’s not working! It's broken!

 **Nishimura**   **(16:30):** wait why would you ask that? he hangs out with us, doesn’t he? and he’s going to the bakery this weekend?

 **Nishimura**   **(16:30):** did he say something?

 **Nishimura**   **(16:30):** oh man, what if he does hate us?

 **Nishimura**   **(16:30):** am I overbearing?

 **Nishimura**   **(16:31):** atsushi what do you know?????

 **Nishimura**   **(16:31):** does he not like baked goods?

 **Nishimura**   **(16:31):** omg atsushi what if he’s gluten-intolerant and he’s just going to the bakery bc he feels like he has to be nice to us

 **Nishimura**   **(16:31):** I’VE NEVER SEEN HIM EAT BREAD

 **Kitamoto**   **(16:31):** I set my phone down for 2 seconds. Please calm down.

 **Kitamoto (16:32):** He just seems a little quiet around me, that’s all.

 **Nishimura**   **(16:32):** oh

 **Nishimura**   **(16:33):** well that’s probably fine

 **Nishimura**   **(16:33):** it took me like three weeks and a medical emergency to learn anything other than his name

 **Kitamoto (16:34):** ?

 **Nishimura (16:35):**  apparently I was dehydrated

 **Kitamoto (16:35):**  ???

 **Nishimura**   **(16:37):** he’s like a hermit crab

 **Nishimura**   **(16:38):** we just need to offer him lettuce and chopped grapes and someday he’ll poke his adorable eye-stalks out of his shell and wave his little crab pincers around in joy and achieve his ultimate form

 **Kitamoto (16:40):** have you ever seen a hermit crab?

 **Nishimura (16:40):** that’s beside the point

 **Nishimura**   **(16:42):** also what’s the homework for history?

 

 

 **Fujiwara Touko** added 1 new photo to **Family Album**

[image: A cat—fat, calico, and round-headed—sleeps in a sunny patch of tomato plants. A pink tongue pokes out, as if to taste an imaginary feast.]

 

  

You searched: **cat care**

Sorting 1,860,000,000 results (0.60 seconds)

You searched:  **adopting a stray cat tips**

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You searched: **veterinarian Hitoyoshi cats**

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 **Nishimura (08:12)** : apparently there’s another new kid

 **Nishimura (08:13):**  his name is Tanuma and he’s very tall

 **Kitamoto (08:22):** Don’t text during class.

 **Nishimura (08:23):** I don’t think Miyamoto-sensei cares tbh

 **Nishimura (08:23):**  wait no he does

 

 

The third time Takashi comes home after sunset, Touko and Shigeru stay up after Takashi has gone, shamefaced, to bed.

She’s been flexible with his curfew before, because he seems sincerely sorry whenever it happens, but it keeps happening. It keeps happening, and Touko doesn't know why. Touko wants to give Takashi the autonomy and trust she believes he deserves (and likely has rarely had), but it’s becoming an issue of safety.

“Discipline isn’t the answer,” Shigeru says, nursing his tea, and Touko whole-heartedly agrees. They both know Natsume has faced enough discipline from his other relatives. Punishment at this point, no matter how gentle, would only be counterproductive and painful for everyone.

Touko nods, thinking. “He says he gets lost, but I’m certain there’s no one alive who knows Yatsuhara better than Takashi.” Not with how often Takashi explores the forest. “I think we should get him a cell phone. I know he says he didn’t want one, but that way he can at least call to let us know he’s okay…”

Shigeru pushes up his glasses to rub his eyes and smiles at her. “I think that’s a good idea, although it doesn’t address the problem.”

“No, it doesn’t.”

“I don’t think we should push yet, though. I don’t want to jeopardize all the hard work Natsume has done, moving here with us.” Shigeru holds out his hand for Touko. She takes it. “Whatever it is, it seems important to him. I just want him to trust us.”

Touko rubs a circle into Shigeru’s palm. “I know,” she says. “I want that too.”

Someday, she thinks, he will.

 

 

 **Nishimura Satoru** has created a new **group chat**

 **Nishimura Satoru** has added 3 users to the **group chat**

**#group chat**

**Nishimura Satoru:** why is Natsume bleeding???

 **Tanuma Kaname:** what

 **Nishimura Satoru:** ahhh what???

 **Kitamoto Atsushi:**  What?

 **Sasada Jun:** Again?????

 **Nishimura Satoru:** what do you mean again  
**Nishimura Satoru:** this has happened before?

 **Tanuma Kaname:** where is he?

 **Nishimura Satoru:** nurse’s station

 **Kitamoto Atsushi:** incoming

 **Nishimura Satoru:** what  
**Nishimura Satoru:** incoming what?  
**Nishimura Satoru:** never mind package received  
**Nishimura Satoru:** how did he get here so quickly

 **Kitamoto Atsushi:**...  
**Kitamoto Atsushi:** sasada you were saying

 **Sasada Jun:** All I know is that this happened last week too  
**Sasada Jun:** Natsume showed up to class early with a bloody nose  
**Sasada Jun:** Then he asked me not to tell anybody so I told the teacher immediately and dragged him to the nurse but he refused to say what had happened

 **Kitamoto Atsushi:** how did we miss this?

 **Nishimura Satoru:** and who do we need to fight

 **Sasada Jun:** Natsume said it was an accident last week

 **Kitamoto Atsushi:** That certainly seems like something he would say

 **Nishimura Satoru:** if natsume were murdered he would apologize to his murderer for the inconvenience and then thank them for taking time out of their busy day

 **Tanuma Kaname:** Natsume says he hit his head on a tree on the way to school  
**Tanuma Kaname:** and the nurse says his bleeding stopped pretty quickly and he’s not going to have a broken nose, but Natsume is staying for the rest of first period

 **Kitamoto Atsushi:** well that’s worrying

 **Sasada Jun:** How does that happen? Did he headbutt the tree?

 **Nishimura Satoru:** which tree was it

 **Kitamoto Atsushi:** you can’t fight a tree

 **Nishimura Satoru:** wATCH ME

 

 

 **Nishimura (08:02):** Another transfer! Her name is Taki Tooru and she’s the most beautiful person

 **Nishimura (08:03):** Also apparently she doesn’t talk

 **Nishimura (08:03):** If you see a silent angel blessing the hallways that’s her

 **Kitamoto (08:20):** Your phone is going to be taken again.

 **Nishimura (08:25):** Miyamoto-sensei wishes he could catch me

 **Kitamoto (08:35):** How do you always find this stuff out so quickly? She's not even in our class.

 **Nishimura (08:36):** I have my ways

 

 

You searched: **anemic child bento ideas**

Sorting 140,000 results (0.55 seconds)

**Anemia and Your Child: Parent FAQs**

**Video: How to Make Sausage Squids and Other Healthy Snacks**

**Is Your Child Anemic? Meal Planning and Healthy Tips with…**

**Diet plan for anemia: Best meals and foods for boosting iron**

**12 Quick and Easy Anemic-Friendly Recipes**

**Cute bento ideas for anemic kids! Iron-rich proteins like seafood, sesame, and…**

 

 

“Touko told me to remind you to take your vitamins and drink lots of water today,” Kaname says, the next time they all meet up. He places a bottle of water next to Natsume’s bento and gives Natsume a reproachful look.

“Touko told you—wait, when? I’ve only been sick for half a day. How could you possibly know about this?”

Kaname holds up his phone and flashes the lengthy text message he'd received earlier. “She messaged me.”

Nishimura sits up from where he's been languishing in the summer heat, grabbing Kaname's hand to turn the phone in his direction, which Kaname serenely allows.

“Why?” Natsume asks, baffled.

“Maybe because you never check your phone during school,” Kitamoto says, tapping at the pocket where Natsume kept his phone under lock and key.

“That’s because it’s during school!”

“It’s lunchtime,” Kaname says. “It’s allowed.”

“Hold up, does this say anemic?” Nishimura waves Kaname's phone (and hand) so close to Natsume’s face he has to dodge to avoid it. “Natsume, are you anemic? Why didn’t you—I stole your tamagoyaki last week. Why didn’t you say anything!?”

Natsume looks at Kaname to Nishimura, close to tears. In the distance, he can see Sasada dragging Taki towards their lunch huddle.

“I feel I have been betrayed, somehow,” Natsume says to no one in particular.

Kitamoto nods solemnly and gently places his boiled egg in Natsume's open bento.

 

 

 **Nishimura** (19:09): Thanks for going fishing with us! I wasn’t really expecting it to take so long, but I definitely had fun!

 **Nishimura** (19:11): I’m probably being a mother hen, but text me to let me know that you got home okay!

 **Nishimura** (19:34): Did you make it back alright? I know the neighborhood is really safe but I just want to make sure

 **Nishimura** (19:49): Natsume?

 

 

 **group mom** has added **Shibata Katsumi** to the group chat **#protectionsquad**

**#protectionsquad**

**Shibata Katsumi:** what is this  
**Shibata Katsumi:** why am I here

 **group mom:** this is the natsume protection squad  
**group mom:** aka the group chat where we track natsume’s sleeping habits, health, diet, and mental wellbeing because he is still learning to do it himself  
**group mom:** out of love  
**group mom:** it’s less creepy than I just made it sound  
**group mom:** this is nishimura btw

 **group dad:** and I’m Kitamoto

 **Shibata Katsumi:** do I even want to know

 **tall friend:** no

 **Taki Tooru:** welcome!

 **sasadon’t:** yes, welcome to constant and unending anxiety

 **Shibata Katsumi:** great  
**Shibata Katsumi:** thanks  
**Shibata Katsumi:** how do I leave

 

 

**petitebleuet:**

[image: Natori Shuuichi on a park bench with a thin teenager in a school uniform. Natori is laughing as the teenager frowns at someone not captured in the photo. The angle of the photo clearly indicates it was taken from off the walking path, and blurry leaves obscure parts of the frame.]

[image: Natori Shuuichi, surprised and disheveled, chases after the same teenager chasing after the roundest calico cat while a few passers-by stare.]

[image: Natori Shuuichi posing with a young woman in a restaurant, smiling beatifically. Behind him, the teenager drinks lemonade through a straw, clearly bored.]

okay so this maybe reveals too much about how I spend my free time, but has anyone else noticed the scrawny kid that keeps cropping up in Natori Shuuichi’s candid photos? frequently with cat? is this his brother? a family friend? his love-child from a really young and star-crossed relationship? I need answers

 

**sing-for-whatever:**

the real mystery is why Natori let the kid go outside in a jean jacket and Hawaiian shirt

someone help him

 

**letmehavecake:**

celebrities are allowed to have friends too, you guys

 

**miss-yamaguchi:**

I'M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO NOTICED

I know it’s not his brother bc Natori-san has said in multiple interviews (x x x) that he’s an only child and in this particularly revealing (and sad) interview for _Charming Monster_ , he implies that he rarely visits his family and is, like many fans assume, not on the best terms with them (apparently they don’t support his acting career???)

the kid looks like he’s at least 14 and the earliest photo of them together is from five months ago (x), so unless Natori was getting busy when he was nine, I doubt it’s his kid but who knows?

and the kid is clearly not a fan (x x) look at that scowl. he looks like he’s going to shove Natori into the pond

curiously, most of the photos are outside or at random cafés, plus this one of them at a hot spring (you can just see the kid in the back of the photo talking to the woman at the desk) and this one on a train (x), where you can see the kid giving Natori the coldest of shoulders

my working theory is illegitimate half-brother tbh

 

**darkness-my-old-spinster-aunt:**

hijacking your post to add to it sorry, but I recently found these photos of them at some kind of festival (x the kid is wearing a mask but his cat is pretty recognizable) and at a hot springs (x) and I’m not saying that Natori has a secret underage boyfriend because I don’t want that to be on the table

or in the kitchen

like at all

but these are suspicious places to take a twelve-year-old of no relation so what if Natori has a secret underage boyfriend

#please don’t throw rocks at me #i’m just saying #what if #natori shuuichi #conspiracy

 

**iskyfirst:**

awkwardlaughter.gif

should someone call the police? cps? what do we do?

 

**drillbottaylor:**

@natto-ri-shuuichi wtf tho

 

**natto-ri-shuuichi:**

chill guys, it’s a friend of his family (or natori the friend of the family)

he kind of subtly mentions it in his recent interview for _Stars to Stones_ (which is really good and underrated if you haven’t seen it go watch it now for the soundtrack alone). his character in the film has a younger sister and natori mentions that he drew inspiration for their relationship from a family friend who gets sick a lot

excerpt from interview transcript:

 **NS** : I don’t have any siblings or male friends, honestly [hideously charming laughter] so for the relationship between Kazuhiro and Ai, I drew significantly on my relationship with a family friend. They remind me of Ai a lot—always getting into trouble and never asking for help—so it was a pretty easy transition to make.

 **INT** : Oh? It sounds like you guys are quite close.

 **NS** : [laughing] I suppose you could say that, although I’m not sure he appreciates it.

 **INT** : Why is that?

 **NS** : I can be a little overprotective. I view him as a younger brother, and sometimes I worry about him. You know how it goes.

look at natori, dodging the interviewer’s probing questions like the pro he is. we’ll never learn anything about this man. he could be secretly married and no one would know. no wonder he’s so good at acting

but i digress. i’m pretty sure he just wants to leave the kid out of the viscous media limelight lmao you guys just leave him alone

tl;dr not a pedophile just a brother complex calm down

 

**godangoddess:**

Well this was a wild ride from start to finish

 

**present-mic-drop:**

can we pls address the Hawaiian shirts tho

 

 

**#protectionsquad**

**Shibata Katsumi:** why isn’t there a chat with Natsume in it, anyway?

 **group mom:** an excellent question shibata  
**group mom:** one which has befuddled academics and experts for years  
**group mom:** the answer is that natsume is secretly an old man from the 1940s  
**group mom:** with no concept of how technology works, let alone social media  
**group mom:** he thinks snapchat is a kind of board game  
**group mom:** and the Fujiwaras had to lecture him into carrying a phone and he only checks his social media like, once a week

 **sasadon’t:** and even then he just checks his messages  
**sasadon’t:** he never actually posts anything  
**sasadon’t:** Fujiwara-san posts more frequently than he does

 **group mom:** and thank goodness  
**group mom:** without Touko-san, there would be no photos of Natsume

 **Taki Tooru:** I’m judging you

 

 

“It would be easier to meet up if you had a LINE, you know,” Katsumi says the next time they meet up.

“A LINE?”

“For messaging,” Katsumi explains. In the short time since he’s reconnected with Natsume, he’s come to understand that his friend is not the most current individual.

“Oh, that.” Natsume shrugs. “I don’t text much.”

The crepe vendor is busier than last time, so Tanuma had volunteered to wait for their order while Katsumi and Natsume staked out a table, which affords Katsumi an opportunity to ask Natsume personal questions.

He finds, for some reason, Natsume is more comfortable sharing some details alone than in front of Tanuma. Katsumi suspects it’s because Natsume still wants Tanuma to think the best of him and doesn’t care as much what Katsumi thinks, but he doesn’t mind. In many ways, he’s glad for Natsume’s candor.

“Why not?” Katsumi asks, keeping an eye on Tanuma. He’s behind two foreigners who seem confused by the menu, so they still have some time.

“I’ve gotten by without it so far.”

Katsumi hums. “And you rarely ever use your phone, even though I know you have one.”

In his periphery, Natsume shrugs again. “I don’t often think about it. And I don’t want to break it.”

“It’s useful, though. Like when you fall out of a tree or get lost in the woods,” Katsumi ribs gently. “And if you got a LINE account, then we could keep in touch during the week, too.” As casually as possible, he adds, “It’s fun, arguing with you.”

Natsume stares at his hands in his lap, clearly unsure how to proceed. It makes Katsumi kind of sad.

He doesn’t let it show. Instead, he waves Tanuma over to their table and grins. “Well, whatever makes you happy, I guess. But keep it in mind, maybe?”

He feels absurdly pleased when Natsume smiles back.

 

 

 **Shibata Katsumi** added 1 new photo to **Shenanigans**

[image: Shibata looks smugly at the camera, pointing a thumb over his shoulder. Behind him, Nyanko-sensei swats at Natsume’s face, trying to climb the boy’s shoulder to reach the crepe held high above. Natsume, apparently unaware of the camera, is laughing.]

 

 

The high school library is tucked into the corner of the second floor, almost as if the architect had been trying to hide it from the students. The books aren’t bad, but there’s hardly any seating in the library itself, except a few plastic chairs crammed between shelves. Hardly anyone stays longer than it takes to check out a book, so Tsuji is surprised when, on the way to his usual chair, he spots a head of fair hair bent over one of the cantankerous computers by the windows. 

“Natsume-san?” Tsuji asks.

Natsume jumps a little, but smiles pleasantly when he turns. “Hello.”

It’s the kind of bland response Tsuji recognizes from cousins who don’t quite remember his name, but he doesn’t mind.

“I’m Tsuji, the class representative.”

“Oh, of course.” Natsume smiles and nods. Tsuji thinks he’s going to say something else, but the silence just stretches until it’s almost awkward.

Tsuji glances down the aisle, where his chair is waiting for him. Sighs. “How are classes going?”

“Good, thank you.” Tsuji squints. It might just be the library lighting, but Natsume look paler than usual.

“Nishimura’s not giving you too much trouble, is he?” Tsuji asks, recalling Natsume’s table partner. He was glad when Nishimura and Kitamoto had folded Natsume into their group, but he could imagine Nishimura’s rambunctious spirits easily overwhelming a wallflower like Natsume, but Natsume just shakes his head.

“He’s very kind. Thank you for asking.”

“What are you working on?”

Natsume twitches. Over his shoulder, there’s a website up on sagari, with an illustration of the monster dropping from a tree. “Research project?” Tsuji asks, curious.

“I just need to use the printer,” Natsume says quickly. “I’ll leave as soon as I’m done.”

Tsuji cocks his head at the response. “You aren’t bothering anyone. Do you want any help with your research?” Tsuji smiles ruefully. “I know the library pretty well.”

Surprise flickers through Natsume eyes, but he shakes his head, polite family-reunion smile pinned into place. “Thank you, but I’m alright. I really am almost done.”

Slowly, Tsuji nods. “Alright. I’ll be just down the hall if you change your mind,” he says.

Natsume smiles and nods and turns back to the screen. Tsuji’s not even halfway to his chair when he hears the typing stop abruptly, and the sound of a body falling from a chair.

 

  

 **group mom** has added **Tsuji Shinzou** to the group chat **#protectionsquad**

 **Tsuji Shinzou** : thank you for having me

 **Taki Tooru** : Hi, Tsuji! I didn't know your first name was Shinzou??

 **tall friend** : actually, neither did I

 **shibaka** : I don’t actually know who you are tbh

 **Tsuji Shinzou** : I feel welcomed  
**Tsuji Shinzou** : Natsume has been at the nurse’s station since study hall  
**Tsuji Shinzou** : for fainting yes, he’s totally fine now, just resting  
**Tsuji Shinzou** : but for some reason he believes Tanuma is frustrated and plans to never speak to him again  
**Tsuji Shinzou** : and this is somehow related to a horse  
**Tsuji Shinzou** : and a hackberry tree?  
**Tsuji Shinzou** : also apparently it’s going to rain tomorrow so bring an umbrella

 **tall friend** : why does he think I’m frustrated at him???

 **Tsuji Shinzou** : horses  
**Tsuji Shinzou** : hackberry trees

 **tall friend** : I told him not to worry about the tree

 **shibaka** : what even is your relationship

 **sasadon’t** : Tanuma go console your wayward psychic

 **tall friend** : he’s not my wayward anything

 **sasadon’t** : but you don’t deny that he is a psychic?

 **Taki Tooru** : Sasada no

 **tall friend** : I guess I’ll see you guys later

 **Tsuji Shinzou** : suspicious

 **shibaka** : no but seriously, who are you?

 

 

“We’re going to take a selfie,” Satoru announces, beaming up at the unseasonably blossoming cherry tree.

He targets Natsume first, looping his arm over his shoulder to prevent his slippery friend from evaporating from the scene. Natsume, for his part, looks torn between trying to wiggle out of the headlock (unlikely) or melting into vapor and disappearing into the sleepy morning mist (more likely).

“Wait, Nishimura—” Natsume starts, before Satoru tunes him out completely.

Tanuma and Kitamoto exchange looks, before shrugging. They move to flank Natsume and Satoru like tall polite bookends and, realizing Satoru’s hands are full, Kitamoto obligingly pulls out his phone.

“—really, this is unnecessary, it’s a perfectly normal tree—”

“Duck down a bit, please, Tanuma.”

“Ah, sorry.”

“—you a wet cat?! Stop squirming—”

“—soon there will be tons of other blossoming trees, so really—”

“It’s _November_!”

“Okay, everybody, smile,” Kitamoto says, angling his phone to catch them all and as much of the cherry tree as he can manage.

 

 

 **Kitamoto Atsushi** added 1 new photo to **Shenanigans**

[image: Kitamoto’s face is partially clipped by the frame, but it’s easy to see Nishimura beaming cheek-to-cheek with a flailing Natsume. Tanuma has to duck to fit into the shot. Behind them, a single blooming cherry tree stands out against a winter sky, white with snow-heavy clouds.]

 

 

 **Nishimura (16:19):**  Another fun adventure! Don’t forget to text when you get home!

 **Nishimura (16:20):** For real this time!!

 **Nishimura (16:30):** Natsume?

 **Nishimura (17:02):** If you think I won’t check in every thirty minutes

 **Nishimura (17:02):** you’re wrong

 **Nishimura (17:30):** Hahaha seriously though text me back

 **Nishimura (17:59):** I will call Touko if I have to

 **Natsume (18:11):** No need! I’m back now.

 **Natsume (18:12):** Sorry, my phone was on silent.

 **Nishimura (18:13):** You’re killing me, Natsume

 

 

**#protectionsquad**

**group mom:** [image.jpg]  
**group mom:** who is this man  
**group mom:** why is he lurking at the gate asking to speak to Natsume

 **Taki Tooru:** I don’t recognize him…

 **group dad:** what is his name? I can try a google search

 **group mom:** he didn’t say  
**group mom:** Sasada told him we’d text Natsume to let him know he had a visitor  
**group mom:** so obviously we’re screening him first  
**group mom:** Sasada is talking to him rn

 **tall friend:** oh him

 **group mom:** ???  
**group mom:** you know him?

 **tall friend:** I’ve seen Natsume talking to him before  
**tall friend:** I don’t know what his name is though  
**tall friend:** it seems like he just shows up randomly  
**tall friend:** and Natsume always seems really unsettled when he shows up  
**tall friend:** I don’t think we should tell Natsume

 **group mom:** end him

 **Taki Tooru:** I’ll go find Natsume!

 **group mom:** **@Taki Tooru** what? why? how dare you

 **Taki Tooru:** to keep him distracted and away from the gate  
**Taki Tooru:**  Nishimura, tell him Natsume went home early today

 **group mom:** oh  
**group mom:** never mind you’re an angel Taki I’m sorry I doubted you  
**group mom:** who wants to interrogate the stalker with me

 

 

In the end, it’s Tooru and Sasada who tackle the issue of Natsume’s stalker, if only because they happen to be walking home together when they stumble across a scene at the bridge:

Natsume and the one-eyed man are clearly in the middle of an intense discussion. The man is half-smiling, one hand hooked through Natsume’s elbow to guide him in another direction on the road, while Natsume scowls up at the man, one thin and white-knuckled hand gripping his book bag. Nyan-nyan-chan, who Tooru definitely saw Natsume holding when he left school, is nowhere in sight.

Sasada and Tooru exchange a quick, wordless look, before doubling their pace. “Natsume-kun!” Tooru shouts, going for a full tackle. She manages to loop her arm around Natsume’s neck, dragging him down and away from the strange man. “We were just looking for you! Where is Nyan-nyan-chan?”

Natsume blinks at them in surprise.

“Taki? Sasada?”

“You promised to help sort through my grandfather’s library, remember?” She turns on the stranger, smiling broadly. “This guy is such a space cadet sometimes. Thank you for keeping him company, Mr…?”

“It’s no problem,” the stranger says, clearly amused by their antics. Tooru narrows her eyes. “I’m glad to know Natsume-kun has such charming friends. Anyway, Natsume-kun, please think about what I said.”

Natsume nods cautiously. At his side, Tooru can sense his tension. There’s something clearly going unspoken between Natsume and this man, and Tooru glares when the man smiles in self-satisfaction.

They’re distracted by an audible shutter noise, and both look to see Sasada, finally armed with her phone camera.

The stranger frowns at her. “I’m sorry, did you just—”

“Selfie,” Sasada says glibly. “Nice light outside today. Anyway, have a nice day, mister. We’ll be going now.” Sasada hooks her arm through Natsume’s other elbow and pulls, steering them away from

“You didn’t have to do that,” Natsume says quietly, once they’ve turned the corner.

“Is he a relative?” Tooru asks, quietly. Natsume is acting in the same way he does when an old guardian pops into his life.

“No.” Natsume shakes his head. “Just someone I know.” More than anything, he looks embarrassed by the entire exchange, and Tooru hopes they didn’t intrude on something they don’t understand.

Luckily, Sasada has no such compunctions.

“That man is creepy,” Sasada declares. “It looked like he was trying to drag you off to drink your blood in some dark, secluded corner of the woods. If he comes around again, you can just text us, and we’ll come running. I have his photo now, so we can report him to the police if you want.”

Natsume splutters.

“Sasada, what? No! He’s not doing anything illegal—I don’t think—he’s just, um. Has a bad personality.”

A stubborn expression crosses Sasada face, and Tooru knows from experience that she’s committing herself to something. “That’s no excuse! I’ve taken a few self-defense classes, and I know Kitamoto went to kendo camp a few years ago. We could probably chase him off!”

"He does seem pretty shady," Tooru agrees.

Nyan-nyan-chan pops out of the bushes and trots to catch up with them. He butts his adorable round head against Tooru's shins once, twice, before darting up onto Natsume’s shoulder, out of reach. Tooru beams at him, delighted. It feels almost like approval.

 

 

 **Taki Tooru** added 1 new photo to **Shenanigans**

[image: Natsume is pulled into the frame by a laughing Taki and Sasada. All three have bright yellow flowers tucked into their hair.]

 

 

 **Nishimura (13:58):** i'm dying. this math homework is killing me. remember me fondly when I am gone.

 **Kitamoto (14:00):** Which #?

 **Nishimura (14:01):** ALL OF THEM

 **Kitamoto (14:01):** Oh. Hmm. I'm actually not great with this chapter.

 **Nishimura (14:02)** : (,,꒪꒫꒪,,)

 **Kitamoto (14:03)** : but I think I saw Tanuma explaining this to Natsume yesterday.

 **Nishimura (14:04)** : !!!

 **Kitamoto (14:04)** : I'll text Tanuma if you call Natsume.

 **Nishimura (14:04)** : ᕕ( ᐛ )ᕗ

 

 

Their study session turns into a sleepover when an unexpected thunderstorm rolls in. Natsume calls his mom and Tanuma calls his dad, who are both delighted to let them stay the night, and Touko has to be talked out of dropping off snacks for them. Atsushi texts Mana and his dad that he’s staying at Satoru’s and tell him if they want him to pick anything up from the store tomorrow morning. He digs his pajamas out of his drawer while Nishimura tries to find clothes that will fit Tanuma’s beanpole frame.

Slowly, they settle. They build a nest of futons and blankets on the ground and keep talking, quietly so as not to attract the ire of Nishimura's mom, but talking lowly even after they turn out the lights. They fall asleep as the storm tapers into a drizzle.

When Atsushi opens his eyes, it's still dark. The rain has almost entirely stopped and a silhouette sits up from the blanket nest. In the moonlight, Natsume’s eyes are weirdly reflective and wide awake.

“Natsume?” Atsushi keeps voice low. Nishimura can sleep through a bomb, but Atsushi doesn’t want to wake Tanuma if they don’t have to.

Natsume’s eyes settle on Atsushi. He doesn’t smile. “Sorry,” Natsume murmurs. “Go—go back to sleep.” 

“Did you have a nightmare?”

Natsume doesn’t say anything, but Atsushi can see his rigid posture, and the way his fists are clenched in his quilt. He bets if there were more light, his knuckles would be bone-white.

Atsushi swipes a hand through his hair and sits up, reaching for his phone. Blue light fills the space between them. Atsushi vaguely registers that it’s a little after four. He clicks his phone to the lowest possible volume and shuffles a little closer to Natsume, dragging his blanket with him.

"Kitamoto?"

Atsushi summons the video Nishimura had sent him early, of two kittens wobbling around, with watery eyes and fat, pointed tails sticking out behind them and props it up on Natsume’s knee. It’s a trick he’s learned from Mana, who always woke him up when she had nightmares.

When the video ends, Natsume still stiff and quiet, but his eyes are fixed on the screen, so Atsushi pulls up the suggested video and they watch in silence as two English bulldog puppies attempt play and mostly bounce off each other like marshmallows. They watch a capybara sits blissfully in a trough of hot water and floating mikans, then a stag crossing an eerily blue river with quiet dignity. By the time they get to a video of a hyper fox trying to play with the cameraman, there’s a slight quirk to Natsume’s mouth and Nyan-nyan-sensei is purring away in his lap.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Atsushi asks, in the quiet space between two videos.

Natsume considers, briefly, and shakes his head. Atsushi accepts it. He pulls up another video—cats again—and settles in for the morning. The silence settles between them like a living thing, warm and sleepy and hopeful, and Atsushi’s not going to be the one to break it.

  

 

  **Nishimura Satoru** added 2 new photos to  **Shenanigans**

[image: Natsume and Kitamoto sit at the Nishimura kitchen table. Kitamoto has fallen asleep, propped up on his elbow. Nishimura places slices of cheese in his hair, giggling, while Natsume looks on, bleary-eyed.]

[image: Kitamoto, awake now, reaches for Nishimura, a blur in the photo as he tries to escape. Natsume looks on, bleary-eyed.]

 

 

 **Nishimura (11:45):** YOU WILL TEXT ME WHEN YOU ARRIVE HOME

 **Nishimura (11:45):** IF I DO NOT HEAR FROM YOU BY 12:15, I WILL NOTIFY YOUR PARENTS, MY PARENTS, AND THE POLICE.

 **Natsume (12:07):** I’m home.

 **Nishimura (12:08):** I require photographic evidence.

 **Natsume (12:11):** Really?

N **ishimura (12:11):** I have Touko on speed dial and I am not afraid to call her.

 **Natsume (12:15):** [image: Natsume’s desk, littered with doodles, origami, and half-finished homework assignments. Nyanko-sensei is sleeping on a stack of math worksheets due tomorrow.]

 **Natsume (12:15):** Happy?

 **Nishimura (12:15):** Immensely. See you tomorrow!

 **Nishimura (12:17):** Also I'm not sure but I think number 12 is wrong.

 

 

**#protectionsquad**

**Tsuji Shinzou:** [image.jpg]  
**Tsuji Shinzou:** another one

 **Taki Tooru:** oh, he looks familiar!  
**Taki Tooru:** I’ve definitely seen him somewhere before

 **shibaka:** he looks kind of like the actor from that rom-com with the librarian and the rare book thief  
**shibaka:** I don’t know his name

 **group mom:** !!!!!!!!  
**group mom:** fjfkgjfdsaaadadAA  
**group mom:** **@sasadon’t @group dad** !!!!!!!

 **sasadon’t:** omg

 **shibaka:** wait is it actually him?

 **group mom:** !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 **tall friend:** oh  
**tall friend:** that’s just natori

 **group mom:** how

 **Taki Tooru:** Tanuma do you just know all the people who stalk Natsume or something?

 **tall friend:** I hope so  
**tall friend:** but if I’m being honest probably not

 **group mom:** um???

 

 

 **Natsume (01:51):** Do you know if mimimushi eat things other than ears and hearts?

 **Natori (01:52):** no

 **Natori (01:52):** why?

 **Natori (01:52):** why are you asking this?

 **Natori (01:53):** at 2am

 **Natori (01:53):** Natsume-kun where are you?

 **Natori (01:54):** I will come pick you up

 **Natori (01:55):** please don’t feed the mimimushi anything and especially not your ears or heart

 **Natori (02:10):** If you do not respond in 5 minutes I’m sending Hiiragi to find you.

 **Natsume (02:14):** No, it’s fine! Sorry to bother you. Please go back to sleep.

 **Natsume (02:15):** They like mochi.

 

 

**nishinishi:**

[image: Natsume, sleeping on top of his schoolwork during class. Someone has draped a blanket over him. To his left, Tanuma looks both frustrated and incredibly pleased, like a mother whose toddler has finally deigned to nap.]

fourth time this week

 

**katsu_later:**

**@nishinishi** it’s a Tuesday??

 

**nishinishi:**

**@katsu_later** TRUST ME, WE KNOW

 

**kitatsushi:**

**@nishinishi @katsu_later** When our teacher walked in today, you could see the moment he just silently gave up

 

**sasadajun:**

**@nishinishi @katsu_later @kitatsushi** Poor Miyamoto-sensei.

 

 **@toukofujiwara** liked this image

 **@2cute4tooru** liked this image

 **@katsu_later** liked this image

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“What,” Nishimura says, staring at his phone in shock.

Next to him, Natsume stirs from his nap and blinks slowly at him. His hair is well on his way to bedhead and sleep clings to his movements like spider silk. “What?”

“Go back to sleep,” Nishimura says sternly, channeling his best impression of Touko, then hides his phone before Miyamoto-sensei can catch him with it.

 

 

After school that day, Tooru volunteers to walk Natsume home. It’s clear to pretty much everyone but him that he’s half-way to a head cold and it’s not like she has anyone waiting for her at home, so she loops her arm through his and steers him down the path.

Tooru rarely gets to spend time with Natsume on his own since they’re always in different classes, so it’s easy to wave off his half-hearted protests. They walk slowly and enjoy the lovely day outside and, if Natsume’s eyes occasionally catch on mundane patch of woods, Tooru tries not to notice.

It’s hard, though. She so badly wants to know what he sees, so the third time she notices, she asks him.

“Ah,” Natsume says, clearly surprised. He looks at her askance. “They’re very little.”

Tooru smiles, reminded of the yokai who were once her grandfather’s friends. “What do they look like?”

Natsume glances back over to the bushes. Tooru catches a faint rustling (easily the wind) and nothing else. “They’re both small enough to sit in your palm. They’re wearing formal kimonos and acorn caps.”

Delighted, Tooru laughs. “That sounds adorable! I wish I could see them.”

Beside her, Natsume is silent.

The next time she catches him at it, she asks again, and learns of a masked woman lounging in a tree. And again, when they cross the bridge, there’s a pair of robed frogs fishing at the river.

“Ah!” Natsume says, just as they turn into his neighborhood. “I almost missed her, but there’s one with a bird mask. She’s carrying a flute.”

Tooru looks, and this time she sees it: a little starling perched on a neighbor’s wall. She ruffles her wings and titters down at them, suspicious.

“Thank you for telling me,” she says sincerely, and feels a rush of warmth when Natsume smiles back at her.

That last time, she hadn’t had to ask.

 

 

 **Shigeru:** How is he?

 **Touko:** Asleep now. He had some juice and broth earlier today, but he still seems feverish.

 **Shigeru:** Okay. Can I pick anything up on the way home?

 **Touko:** Yes! Ginger and painkillers.

 **Touko:** We’re running low, and I was planning to make congee tonight. Also, maybe more broth?

 **Shigeru:** Will do. Let me know if you need anything else.

 **Touko:** Thank you! See you soon!

 

 

 **Fujiwara Touko** added 2 new photos to **Family Album**

[image: Natsume Takashi is slumped over the Fujiwara kitchen table, asleep. Under his folded arms, his half-finished English homework is barely visible.]

[image: Same evening, Natsume squints at the camera blearily, a piece of paper stuck to his face. He looks confused.]

 

 

Shigeru answer the phone absentmindedly, half his mind still on the equation in front of him. It’s getting dark—he should probably turn on a lamp soon. “Hello, Fujiwara Shigeru speaking.”

“Shigeru-san?”

Takashi’s voice is small, like he’s hoping he won’t be heard. Shigeru drops his pen, all thoughts of work flown from his mind. “Takashi-kun? What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing, really,” Takashi starts, and Shigeru heads for his coat. “But I may have—um. Sprained. My ankle?”

“I’ll come get you,” Shigeru tells him. As he moves through the kitchen, Touko pauses in her cooking to listen in. “Are you in pain?”

“Oh my,” Touko says. She darts away to the bathroom, probably for their first aid kit.

“Not really,” Takashi assures him. It is, somehow, not reassuring. “I just can’t walk on it and, um. I don’t know where Nyanko-sensei went.”

“We can find him after we make sure you’re okay,” Shigeru promises, lacing his shoes, phone in the crook of his ear. “But let’s take care of you first. Don’t walk or stand on your foot, if you can. Do you know where you are?”

Takashi is, apparently, in a deep part of the Yatsuhara that Shigeru only recognizes from a strange escapade as boy. Half-led by Natsume’s directions, he follows a half-forgotten set of stairs to a line of infrequent stone lanterns he certain he’s never seen before. At the end of the trail is an unmarked stone hokora beside a final stone lantern and, at its feet—

“Takashi-kun!”

Shigeru jogs over to his kid and stoops, relieved. Takashi smiles up at him, embarrassed. There are thin, long scratches on one side of his face and dried mud and leaves plastered to the other. “Sorry about this, Shigeru-san. I think I may have overreacted.”

Heavens help him, some day they were going to teach this boy to look after himself.

“I’m glad I found you,” Shigeru says, suppressing the urge to chide Takashi. He stoops to examine Takashi's ankle. In the dark, it's hard to see, but it seems like it might be swelling. “Thank you for calling me. Touko and I would have worried otherwise. Do you feel up for the walk back home?”

Shigeru offers Takashi his arm to help him up. An expression flickers over Takashi’s face for a second—too quick to parse—before it’s gone.

“Alright,” Takashi says, almost shyly. He places a hand of Shigeru’s shoulder, as if worried he might knock him over, and slowly leans his weight on Shigeru. “Thank you for coming.”

Blunt and honest has always been the best approach with Takashi. “I will always come when you call, Takashi-kun, if I am able. It makes me happy to know that you are safe.”

“Okay,” Takashi says, in that same small voice. Just then, a shape topples out of the bushes and they both tense, but—

“Nyangoro?” Shigeru says, startled. The cat yowls up at him as if in chiding and stalks a circle around them both, clearly anxious. Shigeru musters a smile for the cat. “It’s alright, old friend. We’re going home.”

Nyangoro keeps pace with them the entire way, circling restlessly around their feet as to ward off danger and trotting occasionally ahead of them, eyes glinting in the dark. Not once does the cat get distracted or dart off at a sudden noise, and Shigeru feels a rush of warmth for the creature.

When they get home, Touko scolds them both for being reckless, plasters band-aids on Takashi's face, and gives Nyangoro a bowl of fish as a reward.

 

 

 **Fujiwara Touko** added 5 new photos to **Family Album**

[image: Shigeru and Natsume drink tea in the low light of the kitchen, blinking at a ruffled Nyanko-sensei seated on the table. Natsume’s face is plastered with pastel band-aids. Shigeru has an ink smudge on his nose.]

[image: Fujiwara Shigeru, face half covered with shaving cream and razor in hand, blinks in surprise. Natsume, hands full of shaving cream, stares back at the camera in horror.]

[image: In a kitchen, a woman with fly-away hair stirs a large pot, hand pressed to cheek. Beside her, Natsume looks up from his cutting board in surprise, mid-potato.]

[image: Natsume and Nyanko-sensei pose over a birthday cake smothered in cream and strawberries. Nyanko-sensei’s mouth is opened wide to eat one of the strawberries while Natsume smiles shyly, eyes still slightly red around the edges.]

[image: Natsume stands center frame, holding his cat. At his side, an older man has a supportive hand on Natsume’s shoulder as a woman in a yellow cardigan leans into his space. They appear happy and at ease.]

 

 

[image: A frail teenager in a hoody looks resigned as Natori Shuuichi makes a peace sign, smiling widely at the camera. The lighting and angle of the photo seem practiced and professional; they’re both holding crepes.]

 **officialnatorishuuichi**  
1,209 likes

Grabbed crepes in Kumamoto! _Winter in May_ is wrapping up the shoot this week, but I’m excited to come back to visit.

View all 904 comments

 **pandaman72:** does anybody else think it’s weird that a grown man is hanging out with a twelve-year-old?

 **msforensicfan:** he’s allowed to have friends? some people need to chill out

 **fightmekaneki:** lmao pretty sure that’s his brother

 **soseki_nao:** It’s the Hawaiian Shirt Kid! Aw, look at him. He looks so grumpy.

 

 

They finally settle with their crepes on a sunny bench in the park. Shuuichi, in glasses and a floppy hat, snaps a selfie before Natsume has a chance to protest, then turns the screen to show Natsume.

“What do you think?”

“It looks fine,” the kid says, a little awkwardly. Shuuichi considers the photo. Natsume has an adorable pout while, over his shoulder, Hiiragi ducks obligingly into the frame. He is, of course, roguishly handsome and windswept.

“It’s a great photo. We are both amazingly photogenic. Do you mind if I post this later?” Shuuichi asks, adding a subtle filter.

Natsume hesitates. “Other people can see your photos, right?”

Shuuichi smiles. “That's the general idea of social media, yes.”

“Right,” Natsume says, and then nothing else. He doesn't eat his crepe.

“If it makes you uncomfortable, I promise not to post it,” Shuuichi course-corrects, uncertain how to read this shift in mood. “I can even delete the photo. I know some people prefer not to have their photo taken.”

“No, it’s not that,” Natsume says quickly. “I’m just not used to—um, being social. Online.”

“Is there someone you would rather not see the photo?” Shuuichi hazards. He thinks of what little he knows about Natsume's old family, about how easy it is to locate people these days. And, he knows, online bullying is more and more common.

Natsume fiddles with the paper wrapping of his crepe and refuses to look at Shuuichi. “No one in particular.”

Shuuichi hums. “I use mine mostly for promotions, but I post personal photos occasionally. I find it reminds my fans that I’m a human being, with interests and hobbies and flaws. Plus, it’s nice to be able to look back at past accomplishments and adventures. Like a scrapbook,” Shuuichi decides, pleased with his analogy.

“Oh.” Natsume glances down at the cat yokai. The cat yokai licks whipped cream from whiskers and gazing covetously at Natsume’s crepe. Natsume’s hand goes to the fanny pack that he’s taken to and, really, they’re going to have another conversation about fashion soon. “If that’s the case, it’s okay if you post the photo.”

Shuuichi blinks. Natsume is not normally so easily persuaded. “Alright. Are you sure? It's alright if you prefer to be private. No one's going to judge you for it—well, some people will judge you, but if they do, they're not worth your time.”

Natsume nods decisively. “Yes. Also, can I have a copy of the photo?”

 

 

"I'm heading out, Touko,” Takashi calls from the entry way. Touko wipes soapsuds on her apron and rounds the corner to find Takashi pulling on his shoes, the basket they had prepared yesterday tucked on his arm. Nyankichi-kun balances himself on two legs to sniff suspiciously at the basket.

It's a welcome sight. When he first came to live with them, Takashi had ghosted out of the door each morning and evening, quiet as a sunrise. Now, he says hello and goodbye with practiced ease, like there's nothing exceptional about it. Touko reaches out to flip the collar of his coat and he doesn't startle at her touch. She raises a hand to his cheek and he still looks back at her with wonder, but not like he's surprised to see her there. “Did you remember your phone?”

“Yes, Touko,” Takashi says, pulling the phone from his pocket.

“Is it charged?”

“Yes, Touko.”

“And it’s on?”

“Yes, Touko. It’s not on silent either, and I have my charger in my bag,” Takashi recites patiently.

Touko’s smile turns a little sheepish. “Oh, my. I’m being overbearing, aren’t I?”

“It’s okay,” Takashi says, all ready forgiveness. He bites his lip and meets her gaze briefly, eyes the color of apricots, before looking back down at his shoes. “It’s nice.”

Touko’s hands flutter up to her cheeks, flustered, while Takashi settles his basket on one arm and Nyankichi-kun on the other. "We'll be back around six, I think."

“Take care,” Touko says. A request, to him and herself and everyone else out there: take care of her gentle,  bird-boned boy. She follows him out the door and watches him go, and she think she catches the beginning of a smile on Takashi's face before he turns the corner.

It feels like a great accomplishment.

 

 

**@natsumet**

Lunch with friends in the forest!

[image: Tanuma, Taki, and Nyanko-sensei look up at the camera from a picnic blanket, a basket of food held high out of Nyanko-sensei’s reach. Behind them, Yatsuhara forest is green and mysterious—a low fog visible in the distance. The photo seems unpracticed and off-center, as if something is missing from the photo.]

Tanuma Kaname, Sasada Jun, Shibata Katsumi and 37 other people liked this post 

 


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